To further promote the "Business meets school" project, the Chemnitz SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT working group has developed a digital platform in cooperation with Chemnitz University of Technology: The career guidance portal, BO-Portal for short, makes it easier for pupils to find offers ranging from internships to special learning achievements (BELL). It also makes it easier to find suitable pairings for schools and companies in order to better compensate for open teaching time slots and cancelled lessons through cooperation. The SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT working group includes numerous companies, schools, the District Parents' Council and the State Office for Schools and Education, as well as the City of Chemnitz's Department of Economics and the Chemnitz Education Authority.
The career guidance platform will not only promote networking between schools and companies, but will also offer numerous benefits for the regional economy, the educational landscape and young people's career choices.
Link to the BO portal: https: //boportal.sysc-chemnitz.de
Next steps
The BO-Portal thrives on the commitment of companies, schools and educational institutions. From now on, they can enter their profile in the BO-Portal completely free of charge and fill it with initiatives and offers. The profile is created in just a few minutes and can be used immediately to enter into an active dialogue on the topic of career guidance with the respective stakeholders that are of particular relevance to them.
Interested stakeholders in the field of career guidance can contact wirtschaft(at)stadt-chemnitz.de by email and receive access data and assistance in creating their profile. Of course, questions regarding content (e.g. career guidance formats) can also be addressed there.
Interested students can already find the first offers in the BO-Portal at https://boportal.sysc-chemnitz.de.
Background "Business meets school"
At the beginning of 2023, the SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT working group launched the first "Chemnitz model in the field of education" with the "School meets business" project on the initiative of the Business Division and the Chemnitz City Education Authority with the support of the District Parents' Council and the State Office for Schools and Education. The aim of the project is to establish companies and Chemnitz University of Technology more firmly and bindingly in everyday school life and, among other things, to offer pupils insights into various professional fields and technological developments by compensating for cancelled lessons with practical work-related units by practitioners from companies at school.
During the pilot phase, five Chemnitz-based companies with both a regional and international focus have already been acquired through direct contact and have successfully trialled the concept in five schools.
The model offers great advantages for both the students and the companies. Pupils are given the opportunity to learn mathematical, technical and physical content in a practical way, while companies can build a bond with young talent at an early stage and potentially recruit them as future specialists.
Close cooperation between schools and businesses is a key component of Chemnitz's economic strategy and plays a decisive role in the city's economic growth.
The aim is to get pupils from at least Year 7 interested in regional companies, regardless of industry and size, and to give them an insight into various professional fields. In addition to innovative companies in areas such as automated driving, special machine construction or IT, Chemnitz also has a large number of socially oriented companies and craft businesses. The aim of the career guidance programme is to showcase this diversity for pupils and make it tangible. This also fulfils the companies' desire for practical training at schools - a win-win situation for everyone involved.